Naruto's Art of Painting

He explored the Sharingan.

Before long, Naruto discovered the specific uses of these eyes.

"Besides stronger dynamic vision, these eyes are truly a natural medium for casting genjutsu."

With just a glare, he could trap an enemy in an inescapable illusion.

The Uchiha ninja must all be exceptionally skilled at genjutsu, right?

After fiddling with the Sharingan for a while longer, Naruto deactivated it and headed for school.

Though the teachers at school probably had nothing left to teach him, school was not merely a place to learn how to grow stronger. The systematic knowledge possessed by the Ninja Academy was exactly what Naruto urgently needed.

Besides, the Ninja Academy was currently his only window into understanding this world.

As for skipping class?

Naruto had been a good student in his previous life. Though in this life he would play dumb to buy time for growth, meaning his test scores would not be very high, he would still listen carefully in class.

Skipping class?

That was only because the Ninja Academy's early curriculum was simply too easy.

Perfect.

Naruto planned to use this easy period to change homeroom teachers.

Otherwise, it was foreseeable that he would spend the next six years living under discrimination.

If his homeroom teacher's attitude influenced the other students, even unintentionally, then this school would have no place for him.

Was he supposed to kill them when the time came?

Not to mention the Third Hokage would never allow it, Naruto himself would not do such a thing.

So, his homeroom teacher had to change!

After arriving at school and taking care of a few things, Naruto had barely sat down when Choji came over.

"Naruto, did you skip class yesterday? Teacher Oda searched the whole school but couldn't find you." Choji, who had come to buy chips, asked him.

"Standing there as punishment was too boring, so I went fishing. I caught several huge fish." As he spoke of his catch, Naruto gestured wildly.

Choji looked rather envious upon hearing that.

Fish that big must be delicious. Just thinking about it made his mouth water.

While the two chatted, Naruto noticed that Sasuke was sitting at his desk, still wearing a cold expression as he tried to look cool.

Quite a few girls surrounded him, fawning over him.

Naruto had absolutely no interest in that circle of little girls.

He only liked girls between eighteen and twenty-five.

That was true now, it would be true in the future, and it would probably still be true when he was old.

Come to think of it, he never changed his heart.

At that moment, Sasuke was the only one in his eyes.

Naruto stood up and walked over.

"Yo, Young Master Sasuke, today..."

Bang!

To Naruto's surprise, before he could finish speaking, Sasuke had already slapped money onto the desk.

It was not until Naruto returned to his seat that he realized.

Did this guy think he was annoying, so he paid him to buy some peace and quiet?

That really was possible.

This little brat!

The class bell rang.

Splash!

The moment homeroom teacher Teacher Oda pushed open the door, a basin of water soaked him to the bone.

Naruto turned to Choji and complained speechlessly, "What a stupid teacher. He fell for the same trap twice."

This time, no traitor was needed for Ichiro Oda to know who the culprit was.

"Uzumaki Naruto!!! Get outside and stand as punishment."

After walking outside and noticing that no one was in the hallway, Naruto thought about it and decided he might as well skip class. There was no point attending this lesson!

Teacher Oda was still furious.

That child—no, that Nine-Tails Fox—was truly infuriating!

Though the higher-ups had repeatedly ordered him not to treat Naruto differently, this kid was simply too naughty.

From now on, he would never bother with him again!

He would just let him fend for himself.

With that thought, he composed himself and continued teaching.

"Last time, we talked about Chakra. There are several points to keep in mind when refining Chakra."

Teacher Oda picked up a piece of chalk, ready to write on the blackboard.

Suddenly, the chalk turned into a snake and lunged at Teacher Oda.

Having spent so long as a schoolteacher, Ichiro Oda's vigilance as a ninja had long since faded. He was bitten before he could react, and the venom took effect instantly. He collapsed onto the ground in a daze.

"Teacher Oda~" ×N

For the time being, however, none of this had anything to do with Naruto.

He had specifically chosen a nonlethal snake anyway.

At that moment, he was pulling another prank.

Once someone got used to pranks, they were rather hard to quit. Just like Hokage Rock—he had gotten so used to painting it that if he went a week without doing so, he felt uncomfortable all over.

Today's style, however, was a bit of a mash-up.

The First Hokage and Second Hokage had gone with a boys' love style: sharp brows, bright eyes, and little stars in their eyes. The original stone statues had become vividly lifelike under his brush, like two handsome men.

The Third Hokage was still alive, so Naruto chose to show a little respect. He went with a tough, hard-edged style that made him look exceptionally imposing.

As for the Fourth Hokage, Naruto gave him a Nordic Viking look, complete with a lifelike little mustache and an eyepatch over his left eye.

At a glance, he looked like a pirate.

Still, the rewards for repeating similar pranks were getting lower and lower.

By now, he was practically doing public service, but he could not help it—he enjoyed it.

After finishing, Naruto looked over his masterpiece with appreciation.

But when he checked his skill panel, he could no longer keep it together.

He did not know whether it was because he had painted so much or because the SSSSSS Talent was simply too powerful.

[Painting: 10000/10000 (Perfect)]

Without realizing it, he had maxed out Painting just by casually doodling during his pranks.

Naruto was rendered speechless.

Fishing and Cooking were the same—both skills were already maxed out.

Now Naruto did not even want to fish anymore. Even if he dropped in a straight hook, fish would bite.

It was truly boring.

What should he do next?

"Forget it. I should just go fishing."

At the same time, the Third Hokage, who was staring at Hokage Rock through the window, could not keep it together either.

Although he had always been quite serious, the First Hokage and Second Hokage were both such upright and solemn Hokage, yet they had been painted into such absurd appearances. Anyone who knew them would be unable to stop themselves from laughing upon seeing those two portraits.

"I never expected that boy to have such talent for painting." Muttering that, the Third Hokage took a puff from his old pipe and sank into thought.

Elsewhere.

Choji and Shikamaru, who had been given the day off because their homeroom teacher had been sent to the hospital, also had considerable appreciation for Naruto's artistic talent.

"Shikamaru, look~"

While wandering around, Choji suddenly pointed at the random graffiti by the roadside and called Shikamaru's attention to it.

"What is it?"

"Don't you think it looks really good?"

Shikamaru took a careful look.

He normally paid little attention to such things. It was just random graffiti by the roadside, after all.

But now that he looked closely, the chaotic colors unexpectedly worked well together. Though there was no compositional technique to speak of, it was strangely harmonious, carrying a kind of unadorned beauty.

Shikamaru had never studied art, but at a single glance, he knew this truly looked good.

"Did Naruto draw this?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

"It seems like he's the only one in the village who would do something like this."

Shikamaru suddenly became a little curious about Naruto. "What is he doing now?"

"After getting kicked out of the classroom yesterday, he went fishing. He might be fishing now too."

"Fishing, huh~"

Shikamaru recalled the time he had gone fishing with his father. It really was something to pass the time.

Other than wasting time, it accomplished nothing.

"How about we go too?"

Choji suggested, "Naruto said he caught a huge fish yesterday, one as big as a person."

"Idiot, that's impossible. Where would we find fish that big around here? Unless it was by the sea."

After saying that, Shikamaru thought for a moment, then added, "Still, I'm bored enough that checking it out wouldn't hurt."

Shikamaru, who had confidently declared that such a large fish could not exist, wore the most astonished expression of his life the instant he saw Naruto.

"You came at just the right time."

Naruto had just dragged a fish longer than himself onto the shore when he turned around and saw the two of them.

"Wow~ What a huge fish."

Seeing such a massive fish, Choji immediately abandoned Shikamaru and ran over, shouting excitedly.

"Naruto, do you know how to cook fish?"

For a moment, Choji did not even know how they were supposed to deal with such a huge fish.

"Of course."

Naruto pointed into the distance. "I have a campsite over there. We can grill this fish and eat it."

"You two are in for a treat this time."

Just thinking about his grilled fish made Naruto admire himself.

The flavor was so good that he himself could hardly believe he had made it.

He had only sprinkled on a few things, yet it somehow tasted unbelievably delicious. Naruto was beginning to question reality.

That was probably the audacity of a max-level skill.

Sure enough, after tasting Naruto's grilled fish, the two of them began questioning reality too.

Choji ate while crying. "Sob... I've never eaten anything this delicious in my life."

"Naruto, from today onward, you are Choji's best friend!"

Choji declared that Naruto was the friend he had chosen for life!

As for Choji's former best friend—Shikamaru—he had nothing to say. He simply worked hard at eating fish.

Ahem, there was really no intention of mocking Teacher Oda. I'm a One Piece fan too; I just couldn't think of a name, so I picked one at random.